the episcopal church of west oahu - st.nicholas · 2019-11-13 · the episcopal church of west oahu...
TRANSCRIPT
The Episcopal Church of West Oahu
the ECWO ECHO V O L U M E 2 , I S S U E 1 1 N O V E M B E R 2 0 1 5
Pondering the "Why" of the Episcopal Church in Hawai'i Bishop Robert Fitzpatrick
Aloha o ke Akua:
I have just returned from a Project Resource conference in Denver. Project Resource is designed to turn a diocesan
Bishop into a team leader of resource developers - teachers - who each have the training and digital resources to
lead any church in any situation concerning resource development of money, vision or people - three great re-
sources of a church's mission. I was blessed to have Keane Akao, David Gierlach, Kerith Harding, Wilma Namum-
nart and Peter Pereira with me.
In preparation for the gathering, we were asked to watch a TED Talk by Simon Sinek entiled, "How Great Leaders
Inspire Action". Sinek has a simple model for inspirational leadership all starting with the simple question of
"why?"
In preparation for the annual meeting of our Diocesan Convention on October 23-24, several long plane rides have
allowed me to pray and ponder about the "why" of the Episcopal Diocese of Hawaiʻi. It seems to me that too often
we get caught in the "how" or the "what."
We sometimes get caught up in the "what" of church. It is that Christian thing on Sunday mornings. It is the stuff
of buildings and worship. It might be about doing good things like caring for the houseless. It might be about be-
ing the "Episcopal" Church in town, the church the Holy Sovereigns invited into the Kingdom, the church with the
best organ and music in town, or the "nice and welcoming" church.
The "how" of our churches are the actions, programs, activities and style that define a congregation. It might be
overly long exchanges of the peace or singing the "Queen's Prayer" after the absolution. It might be serving a lunch
after worship each Sunday for the houseless. Being the Episcopal Church in town, it might just be the church that
always prays from the Book of Common Prayer.
That is still not the "why" of being the Church. An individual might have a "why" that drives the whole congrega-
tion. If someone's mother was a founding member of the congregation or a person's father was once the priest, the
driving "why" might be to preserve the past. Likewise the "why" of someone might be to preserve a building so
their granddaughter will have a place to be married.
We confuse the "what" and "how" of being church with "why" we exist as the church of Jesus Christ.
In his book Streams of Living Water: Celebrating the Great Traditions of Christ (HarperOne, 2001), Richard J. Fos-
ter suggests there are six streams in Christianity that lead us to God in Jesus Christ:
The Contemplative Tradition: Discovering the Prayer-Filled Life.
The Holiness Tradition: Discovering the Virtuous Life.
The Charismatic Tradition: Discovering the Spirit-Empowered Life.
The Social Justice Tradition: Discovering the Compassionate Life.
The Evangelical Tradition: Discovering the Word-Centered Life.
The Incarnational Tradition: Discovering the Sacramental Life. (Continued on page 7.)
P A G E 2 V O L U M E 2 , I S S U E 1 1
EPISCOPAL CHURCH
WEST OAHU
www.ecwo.org
Ministers:
Vicar: VACANT
St. Nicholas - St. Timothy
Priest: Kaleo Patterson
St. John the Baptist
St. Stephen’s
Deacon: Steve Costa
St. Stephen's
Episcopal Church of
West Oahu: Keane J. K. Akao
98-939 Moanalua Road
Aiea, HI 96701
Direct: 808.561.1244
Treasurer: Doug Brown
EDGE Shana Ikeda
youthdirector@
episcopalhawaii.org
Newsletter: Bob Windisch
Photography: Keane Akao
Deacon Steve Costa
Sylvia Eschbach
David Jones
Kahu Kaleo Patterson
Shana Valenzuela-Ikeda
Bob Windisch
The Wooden Corpus at St. Stephen’s Submitted by Sylvia Eschbach
It hangs high up on the back wall of St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church in Wahiawa.
Its head hung to one side with such deep sorrow a viewer cannot help but sense the immense
suffering endured.
A life-size wooden carving of Christ Jesus crucified.
So life-like in appearance, it is a provocative and lovely piece of work done by blessed
human hands.
Rescued by Rev. Kishpaugh, Rector of St. Stephen’s in 1966, from its crate in the storeroom
of St. Andrew’s Cathedral.
His query to Bishop Kennedy revealed it was a gift from a wealthy donor who sent it from
Italy and said it was about 400 years old.
His request to have it for St. Stephen’s was granted by the Bishop who was pleased to have
the gift find a home.
Unverified by documents and none known to exist, it indeed found a home at St. Stephen’s.
At the direction of Rev. Kishpaugh, it was affixed to a wooden cross fashioned by Alan Pe-
terson from Douglas Fir beams retrieved from a former school building in the local town of
Wahiawa. For about 15 years it served the parish on Good Fridays when a few strong men
would carry it into the sanctuary, where its presence was revered during services. It was not
until sometime in the 1980’s that it was given a place of reverence on the back wall of St.
Stephen’s.
There it hung until April 2015, when the Corpus with its cross was removed for mainte-
nance work on the back wall. It was then examined closely by professional wood conserva-
tor D. Thor Minnick, who volunteered his time and expertise. He was surprised by its fairly
good condition considering its home environment, i.e. no air-conditioning and only screen-
less open air ventilation when church is in use. Aside from years of dust and gecko drop-
pings, there appeared to be no insect damage. He also indicated that the wood used for the
Corpus was from some kind of fruit tree. After the recommended careful dusting and clean-
ing was done it was replaced on the back wall while its keepers discern the future of its cur-
rent home.
In the meantime, it welcomes all who wish to gaze upon it, for contemplation, for reflection,
for comfort, for respite, for forgiveness or to just appreciate the work of gifted hands, vision
and heart. As for myself, each time I visit and gaze upon it, I am awed. All my perceived
burdens evaporate in its presence. I obtain respite as it reminds me that my earthly concerns
are nothing to what Christ sacrificed His life for.
For questions or more information you may contact Sylvia at:
P A G E 3 V O L U M E 2 , I S S U E 1 1
We Are Having A Party! from Kala Holden
Harvest month is past and we are now in the calendar days of Thanksgiving. The year has gone by way too fast. It is hard to believe, yet here we are. Two more hectic months until the year 2016. It is c-r-u-n-c-h time for me! Crunch with a big anxious "C". Can? or no can? That is the question I have been asking lately. "Can you sponsor a child or youth for the Onemalu Christmas Fest on December 19th?" "Can we use your tent for that day?" "How about folding tables?" "four feet or 6 feet?" There will be door prizes. "Can you donate a set of dishes, pots and pans, towels, bedding, coffee maker, rice cooker?" Festivities begin about 11:00 AM. The Kapolei Hawaiian Civic Club will be handling all the games and prizes. Deacon Steve Costa is making sure that lunch happens about 11:30 AM. He has already acquired most of the ono grinds.
There are gift lists, for the Onemalu children, with ECWO churches and private organizations. When there are no sponsors signed up from those lists, another list is made and I get on the phone to find more sponsors. This year there are 115 children at the shelter; the most we have ever had. The photo Shop is a favorite for the residents and takes place on the 1st floor of the shelter. We could use a few more photogra-phers for relief purposes.
The tent company arrives at Onemalu about 8:00 AM to set up and volunteers start show-ing up around 9:30 AM to decorate the big tent and set up pop-up tents for the day. The volunteers are asked to bring their own chairs to sit on. Kokua is also needed to help coordinate at the gift and door prize tent. The co-chairs, Becky, Shana, and Luella will be station leaders for the food, games, door prizes and photo shop. Entertainment is being worked out with a hula halau and hopefully there will be a bouncing house again. In past years the party began winding down around 2:00 PM, and a few volunteers remained to help with clean up. Arrangements will be made to pick up the wrapped and tagged gifts from each congrega-tion and private organization by or before December 13th to be sure there is a gift for each child before the event of December 19th. My prayers have always been answered
when requesting kokua for the occasion.
So, again this year please volunteer/sign
up by calling me at 672-4692 or by e-mail
at [email protected] Aloha Ke Akua and
God bless ECWO.
P A G E 4 V O L U M E 2 , I S S U E 1 1
FOURTH ANNUAL TRUNK OR TREAT from Bob Windisch
The Diocese land in Kapolei was the scene of the 4th Annual Trunk or Treat night. Eight families from St. Nicholas EC and St. John the Baptist arrived between 5:00 and 5:30 to begin decorating the trunks of their cars and one bike with spooky Halloween decorations. Many others also came to hand out candy to the little ghosts and goblins and to enjoy a delicious pot luck picnic, fellowship with their fellow church folks and the overall festiveness of a beautiful Hawaii evening! A highlight of the evening was a performance by the Tuvalu cultural dancers, “Pasifica I Hawaii Nei” from St. John the Baptist Church.
Special thank you’s go out to Shana Valenzuela Ikeda for taking the reins on this super-fun event, Keane Akao for getting huge lighting fixtures that safely lit up the area, Tom Gatti for picking them up and transporting them to Kapolei, and Kelly Connell for getting them up and running. Also, thanks to Kelly, Kala Holden and Deidre Harris for playing music while the keiki col-lected their “treats”.
P A G E 5 V O L U M E 2 , I S S U E 1 1
"Free Resume’ Services at St. Stephen's
With the guidance of Fr. Dr. Kaleo Patterson, St.
Stephen's parishioner Gail Honda will begin offer-
ing free resume’ services at the church Tuesdays
and Fridays 9:00-11:00 AM beginning October 27.
The paper version of the resume’ is free, and for an
electronic version on a new USB thumb drive, we
are asking for a donation of $5. The thumb drive is
inscribed with St. Stephen's contact information, an
idea by Keane Akao, ECWO Director of Opera-
tions and Congregational Development. For more
information, please call Fr. Kaleo at 330-3769 or
resume’ counselor Gail at 942-4783."
In Celebration of National Hospice & Palliative Care Month -
Friday November 6
St. Francis Hospice Bereavement Services invites you to A Rose of Remembrance, a touching interdenominational memorial ser-vice that honors the memories of St. Francis Hospice patients and others in our community. This event will take place on Friday, No-vember 6, at the Newman Center, University of Hawaii-Manoa, 1941 East-West Rd., at 7:00 PM. Presenting ministers include the Rev. Kaleo Patterson. For more information, download the flyer
HERE:
http://files.ctctcdn.com/623e4457001/3dd4ff6f-baed-452b-899d-
e8cdaf0461d7.pdf
Rev Dcn. Steve & opening prayer for NAMI Hawaii
Walks fundraiser National Alliance on Mental Illness
First Keiki Time at St. Stephen's with Nancy Patterson and Mary Kealoha and Mina Mamoe 10.4.15
Keiki Time is a time to teach Bible stories, and role play, and learn about God, during the worship service.
Announcing free resume’ services at St. Stephen's: From
left: Sandra Shawhan, Vicar Fr. Dr. Kaleo Patterson,
Noreen Kasu (St. John the Baptist), resume’ counselor
Gail Honda, Bishop's Warden Kurt Eschbach.
P A G E 6 V O L U M E 2 , I S S U E 1 1
In conjunction with the Annual Meeting of Convention, there was an Education Day held on Friday, October 23, at 10:00 AM. The
guest speaker was the Rev. Canon Stephanie Spellers, Director of Mission & Formation and Adjunct Professor of Church & Society at the General Theological Seminary of the Episcopal Church. Rev. Canon Spellers guided us on a practical, inspiring journey that explores The Episcopal Way of following Jesus and embracing the gifts of our changing cultural context. Trying to fig-ure out how our Anglican traditions translate for church in the 21st century? Come with a team
and get ready to envision the church we’re becoming … together. Canon Spellers is the author of Radical Welcome: Embracing God, The Other and The Spirit of Transformation and The Epis-copal Way, Book 1 of the Church's Teachings for a Changing World series. She teaches and directs programs in Mission and Formation at General Theological Seminary in New York City; she also serves as Director of New Ministry Development with the Center for Progressive Renewal, an ecumenical church consult-ing group based in Atlanta. The Chaplain to the House of Bishops, she has worked as Canon for Missional Vitality in the Diocese of Long Island and as found-ing priest at The Crossing, an emergent Christian community rooted at St. Paul’s Episcopal Cathedral in Boston. An alumna of Harvard Divinity School and Episcopal Divinity School, Canon Spellers is a popular teacher and speaker nationwide. Learn more about her work HERE: http://www.amazon.com/Stephanie-Spellers/e/B001JSB4KW
Outreach at Blaisdell Park with Girl Scouts troop 5.
Pacific Peace Forum - Hookuikahi The second session in a four part series on Hookui-kahi with Leon Siu and the Hawaiian Nationals. Spon-sored by the Pacific Justice and Reconciliation Center in collaboration with the Cathedral of St. Andrew.
ANNUAL CONVENTION - October 23-24, 2015
P A G E 7 V O L U M E 2 , I S S U E 1 1
Father Damien Monument from Kahu Kaleo Patterson
This is the top half of the Damien Monument which reflects a history of tremendous support for Father Damien from Eng-land's people who were moved and inspired by his courage, sacrifice, and service. The First Kalaupapa Anglican His-tory and Sites Tour took place on October 9/10, 2015; and included the President of the Iolani Guild - Leimalama Lee-loy, and President of the Cathedral of St. Andrew - Leianne Leeloy, and Fr. Kaleo Patterson, Tour organizer, Chaplain of Iolani Guild, and Vicar of St. Stephen's and St. John the Baptist. Two other tours are scheduled for Nov. 4/5; and Nov. 13/14; in an effort to study the Anglican and Episcopalian history in Kalaupapa, including Queen Emma and Queen Liliuokalani, Fr. Damien, and Mother Marianne, but also the remarkable lives of all those who lived and died in the amazing coura-geous community and ohana of Kalaupapa.
In the end, our "why" is God in Jesus Christ. We can see in Foster's list the need to balance various aspects of worship,
piety, service and study. These streams all lead us back to God in Jesus Christ.
We each have our own "why" of faith and of going to church. After my baptism in college, my "why" of church was
caught up in the "what" and "how" of being an intellectually superior, liturgical Episcopalian. Soon after Bea and I mar-
ried, we loaded a van and drove to New York City for me to attend seminary. My own "why" of faith changed after
teaching in Nigeria and becoming very ill. Thanks to wise spiritual directors and days of reflection, I realized that I
wanted everyone to know that they are the beloved of God. The anxiety and transience of the world ultimately doesn't
matter.
It was given language for me when I hear Elizabeth Moltmann-Wendel speak at Trinity Church, Wall Street, with her
husband Jurgen Moltmann. Though speaking specifically to women as a feminist liberation theologian, her words cut
into my core. She called us to understand that each of us is "good," "whole" and "beautiful" by the very will of
God. She said, "God needs us as ones who have accepted themselves as good and whole and thus enabled to renew
through themselves the disturbed and destroyed creation. God needs us as ones who are beautiful and who can break
through the vicious cycle of self-hate and contempt of others."
In Foster's terms, I lean hard on the "Holiness Stream" of Christian life and faith. It "...focuses upon the inward re-
formation of the heart and the development of 'holy habits.' We can rely upon these deeply ingrained habits of virtue to
make our lives function appropriately and to bring forth substantial character formation." For me, the "why" of Church
is to live in a faithful community that can nurture "holy habits" in everyday life, and that can allow all of God's children
the experience of feeling and knowing that they are truly "Good, Whole and Beautiful". The "what" and "how" of creat-
ing such a community are different, but the "why" is clear for me - love.
As a people of God in Jesus Christ, "why" does the Episcopal Diocese of Hawai'i exist? "Why" is your congregation? At
this upcoming Annual Meeting and over the need few months, we will focus on the "Why" of the Episcopal Church in
Hawai'i.
Aloha ma o Iesu Kristo, ko mākou Haku,
+Bob
The Right Reverend Robert L. Fitzpatrick
+ Keali'ikoaokeakua
(Pondering the “why” continued from page 1.)
ECWO Worship Services
St. Nicholas Episcopal Church
SUNDAY: @Christ’s Gathering Place 10:00 AM 98-939 Moanalua Rd. Aiea, HI 96701 SUNDAY NIGHT: @Island Pacific Academy 5:00 PM 909 Haumea St. Kapolei, HI 96707 Email: [email protected]
St. John the Baptist Episcopal Church
SUNDAY: 87-227 St. John’s Rd. 8:00 AM Waianae, HI 96792
St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church
SUNDAY: 1679 California Ave. 10:00 AM Wahiawa, HI 96786
St. Timothy’s Episcopal Church
SUNDAY: @Christ’s Gathering Place 8:00 AM 939 Moanalua Rd. Aiea, HI 96701 Email: [email protected]
Bring friends and Family!
November is Lung Cancer Awareness Month
NOVEMBER CALENDAR
Meeting Schedule for ECWO 2015
1st Tuesday of the month - ECWO Ministry
Meeting - 6:30pm in Sumida Hall
Bi-monthly - Starting Sept 1st, 2015
1st Wednesday of the month St. John the
Baptist Bishop’s Committee - 6:30pm.
2nd Tuesday of the month - ECWO Council
6:30pm in Sumida Hall
2nd Wednesday of the month St. Timothy’s
Bishop’s Committee - 6:30pm
3rd Tuesday of the month St. Stephen’s
Bishop’s Committee - 6:30pm
3rd Wednesday of the month St. Nicholas
Bishop Committee - 6:30pm
November 1 - Ice Cream Sunday after 10:00 AM service. November 1 - Sunday - St. Nicholas Monthly Ministry Meeting in the library following the 10:00 service. November 3 - Tuesday - 6:30 PM - ECWO bi-monthly Ministry Meeting and pot luck dinner in Sumida Hall. Eve-ryone from the 4 ECWO churches is welcome to attend. November 5 - Thursday (and every Thursday) - 6:00 PM Jazz Vespers at St. Peter’s EC, 1317 Queen Emma St., Honolulu. Come for jazz; stay for soup! All welcome! November 6 - A Rose of Remembrance - 7:00 PM - the Newman Center at UH Manoa - (see article page 5). November 11 - Wednesday - Veteran’s Day. November 15 - Sunday - Na Himeni Sing Night - 6:00 PM at St. Stephen's EC, Wahiawa. November 26 - Thursday - Thanksgiving Day! December 19 - Saturday - Christmas Party at Onemalu Transitional Homeless Shelter - 11:00 AM - If you would like to help please call Kala Holden at 672-4692 or email her at: [email protected]